Netflix knocks out the big stars this December. Throughout the month, the platform will release new original films such as Jay Kelly starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, as well as Rian Johnson's latest Knives Out mystery Wake Dead and Kate Winslet's directorial debut Goodbye June.
The streamer is also releasing several documentaries throughout the month, including All the Empty Rooms, a devastating look at gun violence in America, and Demolition: 1975, a retrospective of some of the biggest films and cultural moments of that year. The impact of Seymour Hersh's decades-long career as a journalist is also explored in Cover Up.
There are also some great movies being added to the Netflix library this month. Starting December 1st, you can watch Quentin Tarantino's neo-noir classic Pulp Fiction, Greta Gerwig's Little Women, and the movie that had us all pounding in our chests like Matthew McConaughey, The Wolf of Wall Street. Here are some of the biggest and best movies coming to Netflix this December.
Here's an interesting fact for you: the film is 2021. TrollThe Norwegian monster movie about a literal sleeping giant who wreaks havoc on the country when he is accidentally awakened is Netflix's most-watched non-English film. This film is about a troll living deep in the Dovre Mountains who is not happy to be awakened from his sleep and seeks to destroy everything from Dombas to Dovrefjell. And this December, there's a new troll in town, and just like the previous troll, he has an evil side. Troll 2 will be released on Netflix on December 1st.
All empty rooms (December 1)
In a devastating new documentary short, All the Empty Rooms, CBS News reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp travel across the country to visit and commemorate the bedrooms of children killed in a school shooting. These are certainly difficult hours, but a necessary reminder that we can do more to prevent future tragedies.
Virgin River star Alexandra Breckenridge leads the cast of Netflix's new rom-com My Secret Santa about cash-strapped single mom Taylor Jacobson who takes a job as a seasonal Santa at a luxury resort. Taylor is going full-on as Mrs. Doubtfire, developing prosthetics so she can turn into this cheerful old lady to get the job, but her ruse becomes more complicated when she falls in love with ski resort manager Matthew (Ryan Eggold). My Secret Santa will be released on Netflix on December 3rd.
New Yorker turns 100 (December 5)
After a century in business, The New Yorker opens its office doors for the first time to the crew of the upcoming film New Yorker at 100. Documentarian Marshall Curry and his team provide a rare glimpse into the inner workings and history of one of the nation's most elite sources of journalism, fiction, poetry and cartooning.
Director Noah Baumbach's latest collaboration with Netflix is ​​the dramatic comedy Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney; a movie star who begins to reflect on her life while traveling through Europe with her manager Ron (Adam Sandler). The film was co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, who appears in the film. The supporting cast also includes Laura Dern, Riley Keough and Billy Crudup.
Wake Dead: The Mystery of the Knives Drawing (December 12)
Daniel Craig returns as gentleman detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson's Wake Dead: The Mystery of the Knives Out. In the newest installment of the Knives Out franchise, the dapper and brilliant Blanc heads to a small church in upstate New York to solve a murder with local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis). The list of suspects is long; The cast includes Glenn Close, Josh O'Connor, Josh Brolin, Thomas Haden Church, Andrew Scott and Kerry Washington.
The new Japanese-language film 10 Dances stars Ryoma Takeuchi and Keita Machida as champion dancers in their respective fields. Amid intense competition, the two eventually team up to compete in what is known as the “10 Dances,” a competition in which dancers perform five varieties of Latin dances and five varieties of standard ballroom dances. As the two teach each other their trades, their rivalry blossoms into friendship, and the two eventually develop a deeper attraction.
Breakup: 1975 (December 19).
Director Morgan Neville has directed documentaries such as 20 Feet from Stardom, The Best of Enemies and Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and now he's back with a new film. Breakthrough: 1975 focuses on the enduring legacy of the year that gave us films like Taxi Driver, Jaws and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The film is narrated by Jodie Foster and includes interviews with Martin Scorsese, Albert Brooks, Ellen Burstyn and others.
Great Flood (December 19)
Director Kim Byung Woo is making a new disaster film about the last group of survivors trying to survive a global flood. Park Hae Soo and Squid Game's Kim Da Mi are starring in the film, which will be released on December 19th.
John Elway is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. “Elway” is a new documentary from Skydance Sports that chronicles his remarkable life and career, from his college days playing football and baseball (he was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1981) to his eventual success in the NFL, winning back-to-back Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and beyond.
Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet makes her directorial debut with Goodbye June, a family drama set just before Christmas when four adult siblings and their father are forced to reckon with their ailing mother June as she faces a health crisis. Winslet also stars in the film alongside Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall and Helen Mirren. It hits theaters December 12th and Netflix December 24th.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh is responsible for exposing some of the biggest cover-ups in U.S. history, including the My Lai massacre by American soldiers during the Vietnam War and the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The new documentary, Cover Up, uses Hersh's own research documents and archival footage. further exposure “What Hersh believes is an example of impunity within the US military and intelligence agencies,” and the film serves as a testament to the vital role journalism plays in global and national affairs.
Evil Influencer: The Jody Hildebrandt Story (December 30)
Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke collaborated on a YouTube parenting channel and were arrested and later convicted of aggravated child abuse in 2023 when Franke's two children were found abused and malnourished in Hildebrandt's home. Evil Influencer: The Jody Hildebrandt Story explores the women's relationships and Hildebrandt's influence on Franke and her family.
